On to Eugene.
In its second doubleheader in two states in as many days, No. 12/19 ASU softball (26-11, 5-3 Pac-12) dominated the UTEP Miners (10-29, 5-7 Conference USA) in two contests that showed off ASU's offensive prowess.
ASU crushes UTEP 12-1 in five innings
In game one of two, Dale Ryndak started things off in the circle for the Sun Devils and pitched three innings, allowing one run before being relieved by junior Jenna Makis.
It didn't take long for ASU to draw blood against UTEP, scoring four runs in the first inning of play off of a two-RBI double by senior catcher Amber Freeman and a pair of RBI singles by senior third baseman Haley Steele and junior outfielder Jennifer Soria.
The only true negative of the first inning for the Sun Devils was leaving the bases loaded at the end of the frame.
The Miners got a run back on the bottom of the second as junior pitcher Danielle Pearson reached on a fielder's choice to bring the runner home from third.
In the top of the third inning, ASU's lead continued to grow as it put up four more runs to balloon the deficit to seven.
With her second consecutive hit to start out the game, Soria brought Steele home once again to give ASU a 5-1 advantage.
Senior outfielder Elizabeth Caporuscio brought home one more on a bases-loaded single, followed up by a powerful two-RBI double by sophomore shortstop Chelsea Gonzales, putting the Sun Devils up 8-1 entering the bottom of the third frame.
In the top of the fourth, Soria continued her phenomenal performance in the batter's box with a two-run home run to right field that extended the ASU lead to 10-1. Soria was 3-for-3 at that point with a single, double and home run on the day.
TATERS!!! Soria with the high fly ball to opposite right field! A two-run shot and she's a triple short of the cycle here! 10-1 Devils!
— Sun Devil Softball (@ASUSoftball) April 7, 2015
In the fifth and final inning, the Sun Devils got two runs from an RBI single by Steele and freshman Nicole Chilson's pinch-running score on a fielder's choice. Soria finished her game off with a single to get to 4-for-4 on the day.
Sun Devils collapse late in game two
Game two told a far more frustrating story, with the Sun Devils barely escaping with a victory 13-11 despite leading by 10 runs after six innings.
Junior Alexis Cooper started in the circle for the Sun Devils for only the third time all season, and pitched four innings allowing one run before being relieved by Ryndak, who was later relieved by Makis, who was later relieved by Macha. Four pitchers played in this game for ASU, one that proved to be an extremely poor performance from its staff.
The first inning provided one run for ASU off of an RBI single by Steele that brought home Gonzales.
UTEP brought a runner home in the bottom of the frame on a sacrifice fly, adding an earned run to a shaky start by Cooper.
With the bases loaded and one out in the third, ASU had an opportunity to work towards an advantage like the one it had in game number one. After an error at first, Freeman and Gonzales quickly came across home plate, putting their team in front 3-1 on the miscue by the Miners.
A two-out, two-RBI single by Steele in the fourth pushed the ASU advantage even further to 5-1.
Junior second baseman Nikki Girard led off the fifth with a bang, sending a solo shot over the left field wall to put the Sun Devils on top 6-1.
A fielder's choice in the bottom of the inning brought UTEP back within a 6-2 margin after Ryndak managed the jam that Cooper got herself into.
ASU managed another run to go up 7-2 in the top of the sixth, coming off an RBI single from sophomore catcher Sashel Palacios.
Later in the inning, junior Katee Aguirre got an RBI single of her own to put the Sun Devils on top 8-2.
In the next at-bat, redshirt freshman Margaret Stahm pinch-hit for the Sun Devils and delivered the third consecutive RBI single of the inning, as ASU took a 9-2 advantage.
Finally, after senior outfielder Sierra Rodriguez brought home a run on the fielder's choice and Gonzales brought home two on a powerful double, the top of the sixth ended with ASU holding a 12-2 lead.
.@UTEPSoftball's reaction after a six-run sixth inning by @ASUSoftball: pic.twitter.com/7puGjpROvz
— Ryan Clarke (@RClarkeASU) April 8, 2015
UTEP had a leadoff home run to start the bottom of the sixth by freshman Hope Moreno, and later got a three-run shot from junior Kawehiokalani Netane to bring themselves within five and avoid being run-ruled.
Steele continued an excellent outing and put her team up 13-7 with a solo shot in the seventh that made her 4-for-4 on the game.
UTEP fought for four more runs in the seventh against Makis after loading the bases, and then Macha entered hoping to get two outs and prevent an absolutely terrible collapse.
She did just that, and the Sun Devils avoided blowing a ten run lead to take both games over the lowly Miners.
Next on the docket for ASU will be a three-game series in Eugene against powerhouse Oregon. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 1 p.m. Friday.
Reach the reporter at rclarke6@asu.edu or follow @RClarkeASU on Twitter.
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